I have many interests, so this is going to be a blog on lots of subjects. Submarines, my family, history, books I read, the space programme, archaeology, astronomy, current events, the occasional joke.... Just don't expect any politics, sports or deep philosophy, and we should get along fine.

30 November 2008

This day in history: 30 Nov

1803: The Spanish transferred Lower Louisiana (including the city of New Orleans) to France. (Twenty days later, the French transferred it to the United States.)

1804: The US Senate began an impeachment trial against Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase. This was the third impeachment trial, and the only such trial to date of a Supreme Court justice.

1853: The Russians destroyed the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Sinope - the first battle of the Crimean War.

1864: The Army of Tennessee, under General John Bell Hood, attacked Union forces at Franklin, Tennessee. The battle was a Pyrrhic victory for the Confederates, with almost three times as many casualties as the Union had.

1934:Flying Scotsman, a Gresley A1 4-6-2 (nr 4472) operated by the London and North Eastern Railway, became the first steam locomotive to officially exceed 100 mph.